13 listings
Clothing-Optional Hot Springs in California
Venues where swimsuits are optional all the time, in certain areas, or after dark. Rules change, so confirm before visiting.
We list 13 in California, 2 of them near Desert Hot Springs: the hottest is Mi Kasa Hot Springs (up to 115°F) and the lowest listed adult price is Harbin Hot Springs ($25).
Benton Hot Springs (The Inn at Benton Hot Springs)
A historic ranch and inn in the old mining town of Benton, where spring water rising at about 140°F feeds private hot tubs at numbered campsites, Inn tubs and rental houses. Every tub is booked overnight; the inn offers no day use or hourly rentals. Tub sites take tents or RVs without hookups, and clothing is optional at the sites with discretion required.
Esalen Institute
A retreat center on the Big Sur cliffs whose hot springs baths sit above the Pacific, fed by springs that emerge at about 119F. The baths have four communal stone tubs, individual claw-foot tubs and an upper-level tub with a lift, and they are clothing-optional. They are open only to overnight guests, and Esalen's public night-bathing reservations are currently closed.
Harbin Hot Springs
A rustic, clothing-optional retreat center north of Middletown run by the non-profit Heart Consciousness Church, with eight Mainside pools ranging from a very hot enclosed pool to cold plunges, plus a sauna and steam room. Visitors buy a membership and a 3-, 6- or 24-hour pass, and the property bans alcohol, drugs, phones and cameras. Rebuilding after the 2015 Valley Fire continues, with two new Mainside hotels under construction.
Meadowlark Country House and Resort
An adults-only country inn on Petrified Forest Road outside Calistoga with a mineral-water lap pool, mineral hot tub and Finnish sauna. The inn says its well water is warmed by volcanic activity; the pool is seasonally heated and not heated in winter. The pool area is clothing-optional, and day visitors can call ahead for a day or evening pass.
Mercey Hot Springs
An off-grid resort in the Little Panoche Valley, 13 miles west of I-5, where salty mineral water emerges at about 112F. Outdoor tubs run 102-106F and are clothing-optional and adults-only, while the heated swimming pool is 85-90F and needs swimsuits. Day use is by reservation from noon to 5pm, and stays range from cabins and Airstreams to RV and tent sites.
Mi Kasa Hot Springs
A small adults-only (21+), clothing-optional hotel with a natural hot springs pool, an indoor jacuzzi at about 103F and an outdoor jacuzzi at about 100F. Day passes and private tub rentals run 9am to 10pm with single entry. Leashed pets are welcome but may not enter the water.
Orr Hot Springs
A small clothing-optional resort on 27 acres at the headwaters of Big River, about 12 miles west of Ukiah on Orr Springs Road. The bathhouse has private and communal tubs, a swimming pool, sauna, steam room and cold plunge, and guests cook their own meals in a shared kitchen because no food is sold. Day use runs noon to 9pm by reservation, and there is no cell service or WiFi.
River Oaks Hot Springs Spa
A day spa in Paso Robles that rents geothermal artesian mineral tubs by the hour, either private covered rooms indoors or semi-private open-air tubs outdoors. Soaks cost $30 per person per hour, and the Sip & Soak package adds a wine-tasting flight in an outdoor tub. Massages and facials include a 30-minute indoor soak.
Saline Valley Warm Springs
A clothing-optional warm springs area with a primitive campground in a remote valley of Death Valley National Park, about 35 miles from the nearest paved road. Reaching it takes a high-clearance vehicle with all-terrain tires over North Pass (7,300 ft) or South Pass (5,997 ft). The Lower Springs have been closed since a September 2026 wildfire, while camping between Lower and Palm Springs stays open.
Sea Mountain Nude Resort & Spa
A clothing-optional, adults-only resort for couples and women, with a heated mineral water pool, a whirlpool and a cedar sauna. Day visits run 10:30am to 5pm year-round, and couples passes start at $99. No one under 21 is allowed on the grounds.
Sierra Hot Springs
A nonprofit hot springs retreat on more than 600 acres outside Sierraville, about 30 minutes north of Truckee. Its four soaking areas run from the 95-96F Phoenix Baths to the 110-112F Temple Dome Hot Pool, which sits under a geodesic dome with two cold plunges, and all soaking areas are clothing optional. Every visit needs an advance reservation and at least one member in the party, and stays are in the Main Lodge, the Globe Hotel or the campground.
Tassajara Zen Mountain Center
A San Francisco Zen Center monastery at the end of a 14-mile dirt road in the Ventana Wilderness, with a historic stone bathhouse on the hot springs. The baths have indoor and outdoor plunges, steam rooms and a sauna; they are clothing-optional and separated by gender. Guests visit only in the summer season, from late April to early September, by reservation.
Wilbur Hot Springs
An off-grid, solar-powered hot springs hotel on Sulphur Creek in western Colusa County, surrounded by a 1,560-acre nature preserve. Untreated mineral water flows continuously through flumes in a Japanese-style Fluminarium at about 100 to 109F, and the bathing area is clothing optional and device free. Confirmed reservations are required for both day use and overnight stays, and only guests 13 and older are admitted.